Ion Zotos

Ion Zotos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Music Studies at the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens, specializing in the "History of European Music." He was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1944, where he completed his primary education. After spending some time in Cambridge, he moved to Athens and pursued studies in the Department of English Studies at the University of Athens (1963-1968) while also studying music at the National Conservatory. He continued his music education with G.A. Papaioannou, focusing on counterpoint, fugue, and composition (1966-1971). In 1970, he began a dissertation on the English composer Dr. Arne at the University of Birmingham but was soon called back to take on duties at the University of Athens, where he had been elected as an assistant in the Department of English Studies, with plans to continue his studies later with support from the British Council. Having secured two scholarships, he chose the Fulbright Foundation scholarship for the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, where he first worked on his M.A. and then his doctoral dissertation titled "The Completest Concert" or "Augustan Critics of Opera in England." This work examines the reaction of English intellectuals (around 1700) to the "exotic entertainment" known as Italian opera, which lasted until around 1800, a time when nostalgia for a lost golden age marked the revival of major works by Handel, among others. He was awarded his doctorate in 1977. Ion Zotos received several scholarships for his studies and artistic activities, including from the University of Athens (1964-68) for his undergraduate performance, the British Council (1972) for postgraduate music studies at the University of Cambridge, the Fulbright Foundation (1972-75) for studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, "The Ingram Merrill Fund" (1980-81) for completing studies, the Goethe Institute (1984) for learning German in Berlin and attending artistic events, a "Bursary" from the British Council (1986-87) for Cambridge and then King's College London as a "Visiting Fellow" of the Onassis Foundation (1990-91) for postdoctoral music studies at the University of Sorbonne (Paris IV-Sorbonne). His teaching experience began in 1970-72 when he taught as an assistant in the Department of English Studies at the University of Athens. He taught classical and English literature at the University of Pennsylvania (1973-74) and Combs College of Music (1976-80). In 1981, he taught at the Center for Translation and Interpretation in Corfu. That same year, he became a regular collaborator with the British Council on the Cambridge examination committee, while also preparing candidates for entrance exams to English universities (G.C.E.). For four years (1985-1989), he headed the music department at the American College of Greece (Deree College). He participated in seminars by invitation, organized events, and gave numerous lectures on music in Greece and abroad. He has served as a music critic for newspapers and magazines and is a founding member of the journal "Musicology." His articles explore aspects of Renaissance and Baroque music, the relationship between text and its "translation into musical sound," and monographs on specific works (mainly operas) that span chronologically from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Ion Zotos is actively involved in composition, with works such as the chamber opera "Departure for Brindisi," which has been staged, while others have been recorded and frequently broadcast on the radio. He was also a long-time collaborator-producer for the Third Program of ERT. He has participated in international conferences and workshops, and his works have been published in reputable Greek and international journals as well as in conference proceedings. He has authored the books: "Church Music of the Baroque: Claudio Monteverdi: The Mass and Vespers of 1610," "The String Quartet, ca 1760-ca 1790," "Humanism and the Genesis of Melodrama," Athens, 2003.